Our Visit to Knott’s Ghost Town Alive

it’s been a fun summer so far, but i have to say that our summer wouldn’t be complete without a trip to one of our favorite places, Knott’s Berry Farm. right now, Knott’sGhost Town Alive is going on, a new interactive entertainment experience. hopefully you read our first experience visiting Knott’s 75th Anniversary of Ghost Town, but if you haven’t, let me tell you that is is pretty awesome! throughout all the years that i’ve been taking my boys to Knott’s, this is the most fun that we have ever had in Ghost Town. this one-of-a-kind experience brings the Old West to life as guests of all ages—including the littlest of kids—become part of the action. the residents of Ghost Town involve everyone in the magic of Calico.

the boys ran all over the town, delivering notes, helping the citizens of Calico find the bad guys, handing out newspapers, participating in an elections, enjoying a hoedown celebration and more. we spent a good three hours+ playing make believe in all the Ghost Town Alive adventures.

they even got to do things live wash laundry at Wing Lees Laundry Mat….

visit Sad Eye Joe in Jail…

and who else’s kids insist on pumping the old water pump!

you just have to get down to Knott’sGhost Town Alive this summer, as the celebration will end on September 5th. but good news, there is a chance to win a family four-pack of tickets to Knott’s!!!! so read to the end of this post and then enter to win the GIVEAWAY. Good luck!!!!!

top twelve activities at Ghost Town Alive

below, i have assembled a list of the top twelve activities families should experience while visiting the beloved town of Calico. these are some of our favorite….but of course, we love everything!

Livery Stable – Meet Calico’s friendly equestrian team along with Betty and Brutus, the resident donkeys that enjoy taking an occasional stroll through town. Learn more about each horse while petting them and chatting with their handlers.

Gertie’s Dress Shop – Gertie’s shop designs the dresses for the beautiful ladies in town. guests who stop by the shop can create your own design by using a western-style tin template. if Gertie likes your design she might even put your artwork on display for all to see.

The Sherriff’s Office – Sherriff Wheeler is always looking for deputies to join his posse and capture the notorious Mayfield outlaws, so while you’re in town drop on by his office to say, “Howdy.” if you’re lucky he might be up for a game of cards or ask for help with drawing some wanted posters for criminals on file. we witnessed the capture of outlaw, Mayfield…he sure wasn’t happy to be stuck in jail.

Town Hall – known to be Mayor Purnell’s home and the gathering spot for elections and other politically based functions, Town Hall, is where you can register and be sworn in as a citizen of Calico. i became a citizen of Calico a couple of weeks ago, but the boys signed Calico’s registry book to make it official.

Post Office/Telegraph – this is the location of the town’s only telegraph, the post office is the center of activity on Main Street. here, you can send and receive telegrams for the Calico residents or for yourself. the boys had a great time learning from the Post Master who taught the how to decode telegrams, pick up mail for our townsfolks, or help the Pony Express rider deliver packages. we were also ordered to deliver a newspaper to the School Teacher, because one of Calico’s criminals was finally captured.

The Blacksmith – visit a working blacksmith shop and experience in person, the process of how Knott’s resident blacksmith creates custom horseshoes. you can even get a custom one for yourself!

The Barbershop – hear the latest gossip of the day and even have a mustache applied! but first you must help the Barber with some fun daily tasks throughout Calico. Percy, Calico’s barber,
offers various styles of mustaches which represent characters in the old west – bandit, prospector, lawman. the Ghost Town citizens react to the mustaches worn by the guests based on their mustache type. it’s pretty fun. when we went, the town doctor was looking over the shop….which was perfect, because the school teacher had given the boys a not to deliver to him. he read the note and gave up instructions on what to do with the information.

The Wagon Camp Stunt Show – Home of the Wild West. this stunt show has been a favorite of our family’s for many years. it part stunts, part laughs and very entertaining. the perfect spot to sit a relax your feet after running around Ghost Town.

The Shooting Gallery – this is a new addition to Ghost Town. so much fun to try and hit a target in the Silver Dollar Gallery.

Calico Saloon – Enjoy an ice cold refreshment at the Calico Saloon and see the whole new cancan show. Keep a keen ear and eye open while in the saloon, as sometimes the Mayfield Gang can be found inside cooking up their latest scheme.

The Marshall Purdy Show – enjoy some home spun fun in the Bird Cage Theater with the belly laughing Marshall Purdy.The Hoedown – every evening, the day ends with a town-wide hoedown celebration of 75 years of Calico. everyone can join the town’s citizens at the new Calico Park daily at 5:30pm. it’s a time to put on your dancing shoes and join in the town’s festivities!

Ghost Town Alive was better than ever! we really had a great time….as well as all the other guests we saw running around town. everyone was really enjoying getting involved. people had even come dress up to the park in western gear to get into character. i’ve never seen so much fun going on a Knott’s! remember….this celebration ends in lest than a month, on September 5th, so head over to Knott’s as soon as you can so you don’t miss out on the fun. Don’t forget the GIVEAWAY below……

GIVEAWAY TIME!!!!!! {Closed}

here is your chance to win a family four-pack to Knott’s Berry Farm so you can experience the magic of Ghost Town Alive. to enter, comment below by telling me what most excites you about Ghost Town Alive? for an additional entry, comment on this Facebook Post. the winner will be drawn randomly and announced on this page. the contest ends August 4th at 11:59pm. Good luck!

{Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are 100% mine. We were invited guests of Knott’s }

Lived across the street from Knott’s Berry Farm in the 60’s. Went to Ghost Town Grill
so many times. The Saloon, the Boysenberry Punch and corn dogs. I still have a
menu and a mustache from the Birdcage Theater from 1973! Love it!

We were going to take the family today to celebrate 2 of my kiddos birthdays and buy season passes…then we realized the season passes are only good for the calendar year 😢😢. So no Knott’s for us today, this would be awesome. My girls would love the dress shop and stunt show and my little guy would love the shooting gallery and stables!!

My kids love the barber shop. They got to get fake mustache painted on. I love the feel when you walk in ghost town. It’s like your sweep into the past and being part of the good old days of the Wild West. Love how they end it with an awesome hoedown.

My kids would love the Libery Stable because they enjoy seeing and petting the animals. My 2.5 year old has only been there once so the the Ghost Town would be a huge treat. My family would also enjoy the hoedown and barber shop. Just the Ghost Town becoming alive and going back to the old days would bring some great history alive.

I love the school house! My little ones have never been to Knotts, but would definitely love the Livery stable 🐴 for sure! My daughter is into old MacDonald at the moment and this would be awesome experience for her 😊

Gosh what excites me the most about Ghost town comes alive…honestly is just the excitement of showing my kids what the good ol’days were like. To see how people lived way back when and to experience the joy of being apart of a small town. How incredible would this be!! Oh I even want to run around and get into the excitement of it all!!

I would love to take my boys to experience the whole community! My 7 year old is easily overwhelmed and this looks like he would get into the whole idea. Are the notes your invention or something they planned out as that is such a neat way to be involved. I think the Wild West show would be a huge hit with the kids too!

My boys would love to explore a taste of
the Wild West at Knott’s. It has been more than 10 years since we have visited, and this type of fun is exactly what draws us back. So glad to see that they have revitalized what originally made Knott’ s such a great place for family fun!

Oh my, it has been DECADES since I have been to Knotts, but your recap brings back some memories. Do they still have robbers that come through on the train? I always loved them. Other than that, I think the blacksmith shop would be fun, I’ve always been interested in metals and welding.

The blacksmith…something that has not changed in years…it was always fun as a kid watching them make horseshoes…my son is 2 1/2 and my daughter is turning one today (the 4th)…would love to take them for the first time this summer!!! Thanks

Can you believe we have never been to Knott’s? This whole section of the park looks amazing. My daughter will be learning all about California history this coming year. This would be the perfect way to kick off her school year! We would love to see the stunt show, school house, post office, dress shop, sheriff station, stables, and more!

Thank you so much for sharing this amazing experience with us all! The shooting gallery will definitely get my son’s all excited since he’s sooo into policemen lately and wants to be a police officer when he grows up 😉 love your page and all the fun stuff you post btw!

Being young at heart, my husband and I both love the rides, shows, and interactive characters at Knott’s. I have gotten selfies with some of the law-breaking bandits in the saloon, watched the can-can dancers and old-west singers, and dodged out of the sheriff’s way as he attempted to stop the criminal bandits. We have both been on all the rides (trying to perfect our poses for the pictures on Silver Bullet and Pony Express) and gotten mustaches painted on too. It is hard to pick a single favorite thing, but I do love the old-west ambiance that is set up in Ghost Town. It really gives you a taste of the past. I do have relatives coming to town soon, and I would love to get some spare tickets so that they can have the same experiences. Sharing Knott’s with guests is sure to be amazing.

I love the fact that it brings the whole family together and there is something for everyone to participate! My family would love it, we love the Wild West and you would definitely feel like you were a part of those times since it’s so interactive! It’s really neat how they have brought Ghost Town to life! We can’t wait to go to Knotts and would love the opportunity to win some tickets! Thanks so much for sharing all your beautiful pics with your family! Can’t wait to pan for gold!

Good morning!!!! Gertie’s dress shopping, it’d be a neat experience with my 13 year old daughter. While my husband and our boys (7&8) can camp out at Camp Snoopy.
Thanks for the opportunity. It would be a blessing to win these tickets!!!! 🙏🙏🙏🙏

What most excites me about ghost town live is all the histry that can be taught to my kids. I meet my husband 25 years ago there. He was my waiter at the chicken dinner restraunt. It would be great to spend my anniversary with my kids and husbad at the place that made us a family.

Oh my goodness! We’ve never been to Knott’s! My kids to LOVE this! They are both really into the “old days”. I think they’d really enjoy visiting all of the different stores. And the stunt man show would be fun to see! Thanks for sharing your adventure!

I’m so looking forward to the entire interaction going on right now in Ghost Town Alive! My daughter has only been to Knott’s once and I’d LOVE to get her to see how life was when her great-grandmother (and 2x great-grandmother) was alive as children. It’s a truly magical experience.

We have taken our kids to Knotts before, but never really explored the ghost town that much. I’d love to check out the barbershop and the postmaster! My sons would also love to have a custom made horseshoe made by the blacksmith! How cool is that?!